Windshield cleaner



NOR. 23, 1937.

AE. HANSMANN WINDSHIELD CLEANER Filed Oct. 17, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet lNov. 23, 1937. E. HANsMANN WINDSHIELD CLEANER Filed Oct. 17, 1934 4Sheets-Sheet 2 NNN. NNN

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E. HANSMANN WINDSHELD CLEANER Filed Oct. 17, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 deza2292".' wamwsmzzz Nov. 23, 1937. E. HANSMANN WINDSHIELD CLEANER 4Sheets-Sheet .4

AFiled Oct. 1'7, 19?.:4

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Patented Nov. 23, 1,937

UNITED STATES aioaiss ,wlNnsnrELn CLEANER Elwood Hausmann,

Glencoe, lll., assignor to Stewart-Warner Corporation, Chicago, lll., a

xinia corporation of Vir Application October 17, 1934,v Serial No.748,628

6 Claims. My invention pertains to wind-shield cleaners 4 and isparticularly concerned with a wind-shield cleaner for automobileswherein means is provided for automatically parking the wiper bladesbeyond the line of vision of the occupants of the automobile when thecontrol handle for the windshield cleaner is turned to oi position.

In wind-shield cleaners of the multi-blade type,

it is preferable to have the blades oscillate in parallel while thewind-shield cleaner is operating, but it is a diiiicult problem to parkthese blades in inconspicuous positions when the windshield cleaner isidle. An object of my invention is to provide simple, inexpensive,compact and reliable means for automatically parking the windshieldcleaner blades in inconspicuous positions beyond the normal line ofvision of the occupants of an automobile when operation of thewind-shield cleaner is discontinued.

Other objects and advantages will appear as the description proceeds.

Referring to the drawings,

Figure 1 is a frontal view showing the upper part of an automobile andindicating particularly one parking position for the blades of thewindshield cleaner;

Figure 2 is a view showing the driving mechanism forV operating thewind-shield cleaner from the automobile engine; y

Figure 3 is a top plan view of that part of the operating mechanismwhich is located just above or below the wind-shield of the automobile;

Figure 4 is a front elevation of the mechanism shown in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a sectional view showing a detail and is taken on the line 55 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a section taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 5;

. Figures 7 and 8 are a. top plan view and a front o elevation,respectively, of a further modication;

and

Figures 9 and 10 are, respectively, a pmtial top plan View and a partialfront elevation of a still further modification.

:5 Referring to the drawings, I have shown, in Figure 1, an automobilehaving a wind-shield iB provided with a wind-shield cleaner in the formof two wiper blades i6 and i3 which are illustrated in parked position.The normal eld of 0 movement of the wiper blade i6, when operating, isindicated by the area 20 enclosed in dot and dash lines, and the area.22 similarly enclosed indicates the normal range of movement of thewiper blade i8. It is to be noted that in parked 5 position the wiperblades I6 and I8 are outside'of their normal operating ranges and do notobstruct the vision of the occupants of the automobile.

In Figure 2 I have indicated a shaft of the automobile engine 24 asbeing provided with a worm 5 26 which drives a worm-wheel 28non-rotatably mounted on a clutch member 30 carried 4by a bearing member32 threadedly engaged with the automobile crankcase 34. Clutch member 30is provided with a slot 36 for receiving the cross-pin 10 38 carried bya complementary clutch member 40 which is attached to one end of aflexible drive shaft 42 enclosed in a flexible sheath 44. A noiseinsulating coupling 46 is interposed between the sheath 44 and thebearing member 32 to prevent 15 the transmission of vibration and noisefrom the automobile engine to the dash and associated Darts.

The other end of the drive shaft 42 is connected to a rack 48 which isrotatable and slidable in a 20 housing 50 attached to the other end ofthe sheath 44.. 'Ihe rack 48 has an extension 52 which is slidablyreceived in the hollow shaft of a worm 64, the extension 52 beingprovided with a crosspin 56 which engages a slot 58 in the worm 54 to 25transmit rotative movement from the extension 52 to the worm 54.

Worm 54 drives worm-wheel 60 mounted on shaft 62 provided with crank-arm64 (Figure 3) carrying a crank-pin 66 which is received in the 30 slot68 of a cross-head member l0 slidably mounted on pins l2 and 14 carriedby a supporting frame 16 which is attached to the automobile just aboveor below the wind-shield. "W

A bar I8 is riveted or otherwise attached to the cross-head member l0and has a portion spaced therefrom, this portion being provided withnotches 80 and 82 for receiving, respectively, an end of dogs 84 and 86whichare, respectively, 40 mounted by pivots 88 and 90 to operating arms92 and 36. Springs 96 and 98 normally hold the aforesaid ends 'of thedogs 645 and 86 in engagement with the notches 80 and 82. In thisposition of the dogs the operating arms 92 and 94 45 are connected tothe cross-head member l0 and reciprocate therewith.

Operating arm 96 has a slot |00 for receiving the end of the pin 14which acts as a guide for this operating arm. The other end of theoperating arm is guided by a finger |02 which is rigid with and may bean integral part of the frame 16. This end of the ,operating arm 94 isshown as provided with a rack |04 which engages a pinion |06 of -a rockshaft |08 carrying the bent arm l|0 55 which vforms a guide therefor andis also guided by nger rigid with the frame 16. Rack |22 engages pinionl|24 to operate rock-shaft |26 and thereby oscillate the wiper bladeattached to the end of the arm |26. Clutch mechanism like thatpreviously described is interposed between pinion |24 and rock-shaft|26.

20 The operation of the wind-shield cleaner is controlledby a handle ona shaft |32 carrying a mutilated gear |344 (Figure 2) which engages therack 48. In' Figure 2 the parts are shown in the position which'theyassume when 2 the wind-shield cleaner is operating. when it is desiredto stop the operation of the wind-shield `cleaner, the handle |30 is`turned so that rack 48 ismoved toward worm 6 4, and-pin 38 of member 40is withdrawn from slot 36 of clutch member 38. f

:Shaft |82 carries. a camv |36 havingyan end |38 adapted to engage theoffset end |40 of dog 84, and a second end |42 adapted to engage theoffset end-|44f of dog 86? In Figure 4 cam |36 1" is-in the-idleposition which it assumes when the wind-shield cleaner is operating. Inthis position the cam |36 is just'beyond the inward limits of movementof theends |40 and |44 of the dogs 84 and 86'.'y

When handle |30 is turned to disconnect the 40' drive for thewind-shield cleaner, as previously described, end |38 of cam |36 engagesthe offset end |40 of'dog 84 and oscillates this dog about its pivot 88,thereby'withdrawing the opPOSite .f end of the dog from the notch 80 inoperating 45 arm 92, and thereby disconnecting this operating arm 'fromcross-head member 10. Continued rotation of cam |36 presses the offsetend |40 of the dog against the corner |46 of the operating arm 92. Thiscorner forms a stop for the dog 59 '84 so that, after engagement withthis stop, the

dog 84 in effect becomes a rigid part of operating, arm. 92.

` moves operating arm 92 to the left, as viewed g.. in Figure 4, therebymoving pinion |24, rockshaft |26, and wiper bladearm |28 in a clockwisedirection. b

In'Figure 4 the mechanism is shown with the operating arms 92 and 94 atthe rightward limit ,a of their range of movement under the 56 ofcrank-arm, 64,

cam |36 does not engage the offset end |44 of dog 86 until shortlybefore the operating handle |30 has completed its movement.

Because it is desirable to park the wiper blades beyond their normalrange, of movement, the

ends of the cam |36 are made of such length that they move the operatingarms 92 and 94 a greater distance outward, that is', away from shaft|32, t.: than 'does the crank-arm fact, end |42 yof the cam v'engagesoffset end |44 of dog 86, osciliates this dog to withdraw its opposite'end from notch 82 and engage end |44 with corner |48, and movesoperating arm 84 beyond its normal range of movement before handle |30,reaches its extreme position. This clutch Further movement of cam |36inuence s. and therefore the end |42 of` 64. Because of this additionalmovement of operating arm 84 under the inuence of cam |36 causesadditional movement of wiper blade ||2 which positions this wiper bladebeyond its normal range of operation. When handle 30 reaches its full oiposiv tion operating arms 92 and 94 have been disconnected from theirdriving mechanism and moved beyond their normal ranges ofvmovement, thetwo wiper blades have been'moved toward each other to positions whichare beyond their "10 normal ranges of movement, and clutch members 30and 40 have been separated to disconnect'the flexible drive shaft 42from the automobile engine.

I preferably provide means for yieldingly hold- 15 ing the handle |30 ineither of its extreme posi- --tions, this means being best shown inFigures 5 and 6. The cam |36 may be fastened to the' shaft |32 by a pin|60. The hub of the cam |36 is provided with two depressions |62 whichal- 29 ternately cooperate with a ball detent |64 mounted in a bearingsleeve |66 which isrigidly attached to the frame 16. One of the notches|62 corresponds to the position of the handle |30 when the wind-shieldcleanerv is operating, and the 25 other notch |62 corresponds to Atheposition of the handle |30 when the wiper blades are in their parkedposition. i

When the wiper blades areinparked position, the outer ends of theoperating arms 92 30 and 94 are in engagement with spring-Dressedplungers |68 and maintain the springs |66 thereof in compressedcondition. These springs n|6|I are seated against turned-over ends |62ot the frame 16, these turned-over ends also forming guides for theplungers |68. 'I'he plungers |68 may be provided with facings |64 ofleather, rubber, fiber or other suitable material which will eliminatenoise when engaged by an end of an operating arm. The plungers |66 have40 shafts provided with stops |66 which .limit the inward movements ofthe plungers under the influence of their springs |66 when the ends ofthe operating arms are disengaged from the, plungers. 45 When the handle|36 is turned from of! to on position, the rack 48 (Figure 2) is movedtoward the right and the cross-pin 88 on one clutch member is moved'into the slot 36 in the other clutch member, thereby connecting mcrank-arm 64 with a rotating part of the automobile engine. At the sametime the cam |36 is disengaged from the ends |40 and |44 of dogs 84 and86 and is returned to the position shown in Figure 4. As soon as theends of cam 55 |36 disengage dogs 84 and 86, operating `arms 92 and 94are movedv toward each other by springs |60 -of plungers |68. Thesprings |66 move the operating arms 92 and 94 inward to such an extentthat as bar 13 is reciprocated 60 the notches and 82 thereof will passunder the cooperating ends of'the dogs 84 and'86 and be engaged thereby,whereupon the operating arms 92 and 94 assume the reciprocating movementof bar 18 and cross-head member 16. 55

When the stops |66 are'y in ,engagement with the turned over ends'l62 ofthe frame 16,I the V plungers |68 are in a position to be engagedandmoved slightly by the operating arms 62 and 94 as they reachthevouter extremes of their 70 movement under the iniluence of the'crankarm '64. Instead of being a disadvantage, this is an advantagesince at each'ezitfeme of movement of the operating arms and 94, one ofthe springs |60 is compressed and assists the 75 pivotally connected atdriving mechanism in reversing the direction of movement of theoperating arms 92 and 94. As the greatest burden occurs on the drivingmechanism during' the reversal of movement of the arms 92 and94, thesprings |60 assist in overcoming this burden.

From the foregoing description of one embodiment of my invention, itwill be apparent that I have provided a simple and efficient mechanismwhereby the wind-shield wiper blades will be-automatically parked inunobtrusive positions when the wind-shield cleaner is disconnected fromthe automobile engine. One important advantage of my invention lies inthe fact that the handle |30 may` be turned to off position at any time,that is, without waiting for the wiper blades to assume any certainposition, and as the operatinghandle is turned to oil position the wiperblades are moved to parked'position so that as soon as the operatinghandle reaches its off position the wiper blades reach their full parkedpositions.

In the particular embodiment just described, the wiper blades areoscillated in parallel during their normal operation but are parked withtheir extreme ends pointing toward each other which is advantageous withcertain types of wind-shields. If it be desired to park the wiper bladeswith their ends pointing away fromeach other, it is only necessary toput the racks |04 and |22 above instead of below their respectivepinions |06 and |24. While I have illustrated the wiper blades in Figure1 as being driven from 'below the wind-shield, it is to be understoodthat my'inventlon is equally adapted for installations in which thewiper blades are driven from above the wind-shield.

The modiiication shown in Figuresv 7 and 8, `like the embodiment ofFigures 3 and 4, is designed for a wind-shield cleaner wherein the wiperblades operate in parallel but are parked in non-parallel relationship.In Figures 7 and 8 the crank-pin 66 is connected to a link |84 |86 to aslide |88 supandv |92 attached to the I 96 and |98 normally connectported on pins |90 frame |94. Dogs l the slide |88 to the operating arms200 and 202,

respectively.

In this form of my invention, the operating arms 200 and 202 are notconnected to the pinions |06 and |24 by means of racks but instead theends of the operating arms are connected to cranks 204 each crank beingattached to a large gear 206 mounted 4on a stud 208 carried by the frame|94. Each gear 206 is larger than and in engagement with one of thepinions |06 and |24.

The inner ends of operating arms 200 and 202 are oilset as indicated at2| 0 and 2|2, and these oiset portions are adapted to be 'engaged by thecam 2|4 on the shaft |32 of the operating handle |30. In this form of myinvention the slide |88 is provided with notches 2|6 and 2|8, each notchbeing normally engaged by one end of one of the dogs |96 and |98,springs 220 being provided to maintain this engagement. The other endsof the dogs |96 and |98 overlie the shaft |32 and are adapted to beengaged and move .by a cam 222 on the shaft |32. If desired, cams 2|4and 222 may be formed as parts of an integral member.

` The parts are shown in Figures 7 and 8 as being in the positions whichthey assume when the Wind-shield cleaner is operating. When the handle|30 is turned to 0E position, cam 222 enof my invention,

gages the adjacent ends of dogs |96 and |98 and disconnects them fromthe notches in the slide |88. Thereafter cam 2 I4 yengages theturned-over ends 2|0 and 2|2 of the operating arms 200 and 202 andseparates these arms, each arm being moved outward toa position slightlybeyond the limit of its outward movement under the inuence of thecrank-pin 66.

The ends 2|0 and 2|2 of the operating arms are connected by a spring 224which may be under no appreciable tension when the wind-shield cleaneris operating, but as the arms 200 and 202 are movedvto parking positionsthe spring 2| 0 is placed under tension. When the handle |30 is againmoved to operating position, spring 224 pulls operating arms 200 and 202towards each other so that the dogs |96 and |98 may engage the notches2| 6 and latter is reciprocated link |84.

In the further modification shown in Figures 9 and 10, the crank-pin 66travels in a slot 226 of a cross-head member 228 having a pin 230 ateach end thereof. The pins 230 lare received in slots 232 and 234provided in operating arms 236 and 238, respectively. These operatingarms are provided with ngers 240 and 242 for receiving the ends of arelatively heavy spring 244 which pulls the operating arms towards eachother until the outer ends of their slots 232 and 234 abut the pins 230,in which position the operating arms are maintained throughout thenormal operation of the wind-shield cleaner. The inner ends of theoperating arm are offset as indicated at 246 and 248, these olset armsbeing adapted to cooperate with a cam.250 on the shaftA |32 of theoperating handle |30. When the operating handle is moved to offposition, the cam 250 engages the ends 246 and 248 of the operating bythe crank-pin 66 and arms, and separates these arms against the re'sistance ofthe spring 244. The operating arms 236 and 238 are to beunderstood as being connected to the rock shafts and wiper blades by anysuitable mechanism as, forexample, either by the rack and pinion driveshown in Figures 3 and 4, or by the alternative driving connectionsshown in Figures 7 and 8,' and as the operating arms 236 and 238 arespread apart by the cam 250 the wiper blades are moved to their parkingpositions. When the wiper blades are in parked position, the thrust ofthe spring 244 is exerted on the opposite ends of the cam 250 so thatthere is no tendency for the handle |30 to be moved from oi positionunder'the inuence of spring 244. When the handle |30 is returned tooperating position, the spring 244 returns the operating arms 236 and238 to the positions shown in Figures 9 and 10.

While I have described only a few embodiments it is to be understoodthat my invention is capable of assuming numerous forms, and-that thescope of my invention is to be limited solely by the following claims.

I claim:

l. In wind-shield cleaners of the class described, the combination of aplurality of wiper blades, common driving means therefor, a separabledetachable connection connecting each blade with said driving means,respectively, a handle having parts positioned to be movable `therebyinto engagement with the parts of said connections secured to the wiperblades respectively, for detaching both of said detachable connectionsand simultaneously/moving said blades to parked position.

2|8 in the slidev |80 as'the 2. In wind-shield cleaners of the classdescribed, the combination of a plurality of wiper blades, reciprocableracks for actuating said blades, driving means therefor, meansestablishing a connection betweenthe driving means and racks inoperation of thewiper, said means comprising a pivoted dog connectingeach wiper blade with said driving means, respectively, a cam engageablewith 4the pivoted dogs to disconnect the racks from the driving means bycontinued movement to advance the racks so disconnected from the drivingmeans to move said wiper blades to parked-position, a single handle foroperating said cam, a clutch under control -of said handle forconnecting said driving means with a source of power, and fordisconnecting it therefrom when the said cam is blades to parkedposition.

3. In wind-shield cleaners of the class described, the combination of aplurality of blades,

driving mechanism therefor, a clutch for connecting said mechanism witha source of power, a separable connection between said mechanism andeach of said blades respectively', a Vcam lfor separating saidconnections, and moving said blades to parked position, v,a handleconnected to 'said cam, a pinion carried by said handle and engaging arack for actuating said clutch, and resilient means for returning saidblades to operating position.

turned to move the wiper- 5. In wind-(shield cleaners of the classdescribed, the combination of a plurality of blades, a rock shaftsupporting each respective blade, a pinion carried on each rock shaft,an operating arm for each blade having a rack engaging the pinionassociated therewith, driving mechanism for said arms, a dog connectingeach arm with said driving mechanism, respectively, a clutch connectingsaid driving mechanism with a source ,of power, a handle, means movablewith said handle for disengaging said clutch, a cam carried by saidhandle and moved thereby to disengage said dogs and move saidarms toplace said wiper blades in parked position, spring and plunger meanspositioned to engage each arm when said arms are moved to place saidWiper blades in parked position to move said arm and its associatedblade from parked position, and resilient means for reengaging saiddogs.

6. In wind-shield cleaners of the class described, the combination of acrank-pin, driving means therefor, a clutch connecting said drivingmeans with a source of power, a cross-head member having a slotreceiving said pin, said member being reciprocated thereby, a pair ofslidable bars, a latch connecting each bar with said member respectivelyfor reciprocation therewith, a rack carried by each bar, a pinionengaging each rack, a rock shaft oscillated by each pinion, a wiperblade carried by each rock shaft, a springpressed plunger engaged byeach bar during each outward movement of said bar under the influence ofsaid crank-pin and tending to urge the respective bars to normalposition, a cam positioned between said bars for disengaging the latchesand separating said bars, said cam moving said bars beyond their rangeof movement under the influence of said crank-pin, and a handie foroperating said cam and disengaging said clutch. i

ELWOOD HANSMANN.

